Translator: Vian
Editing: celes, namio
Ever since the marketing account released the post, the "Black Clouds" crew had been searching for the information leaker. Not only the crew, Luo Zhentao also worked with Huaxia Entertainment's PR department to attentively investigate this matter.
However, "Entertainment Circle's Gossip King"'s attitude had already infuriated Director Liang till he was half dead. Luo Zhentao couldn't get any information out of them either. Now that he heard that Rong Xu actually had a guess to who the buyer of the water army was, Luo Zhentao immediately rushed over to Rong Xu's room.
When he heard the name, Luo Zhentao was shocked: "How's that possible?! Xiao Xu, Han Yanghao's the one who leaked the crew's information out? He has nothing to do with "Black Clouds", how did he know you were the lead actor? And for what ever reason does he even want to go against you and the crew on this matter, what good does this do him?"
Rong Xu handed a cup of hot water over to Luo Zhentao. Currently, he had already changed into some comfortable pajamas and was sitting on the sofa, explaining in a cool tone: "Luo ge, I did not say that Han Yanghao is the leaker. My meaning was, the water army should have been bought by him."
Luo Zhentao was at a loss.
Rong Xu patiently analyzed the situation: "Did you not find what the word most frequently mentioned by the water army was? It's "Ambush". "Vie for Supremacy" just had its finale this evening. Although my role ended long ago, the finale played back scenes from the entire series. I also appeared in many scenes there. If one really wanted to hype the blackening on me at this time, why not mention "Vie for Supremacy" that's popular right now but keep on saying "Ambush" instead?
Luo Zhentao was stunned at first but then quickly responded: "That's true, the water army is always mentioning "Ambush"."
Speaking of which, he still has to thank his fans for compiling the "blackspots' name list".
Rong Xu's fans found almost all of the water army accounts and recorded their comments. It was because of that spreadsheet that Rong Xu could easily look through the water army's posts and discover that ninety out of a hundred posts mentioned "Ambush" and even exaggeratedly bragged about how magnificently Rong Xu performed in it.
If they really wanted to blacken him, then they should've stayed close to relevant news. Rong Xu's most popular work right now was "Vie for Supremacy". "Ambush" had already finished over a month ago. Although it was still popular, its heat had already slowly subsided and was far from "Vie for Supremacy"'s level.
Who was it that would neglect the essentials and instead attend to the trifles, adamantly insisting on mentioning "Ambush"?
No matter how one thought about it, it should be someone related to "Ambush".
If it's like this, then it could only be was Han Yanghao.
When they were filming "Ambush", there was a lot of friction between the two to the point that even the whole "Ambush" crew fell out with Han Yanghao. Although no one exposed this kind of thing outside, everyone was well aware of it in their hearts.
How much did Han Yanghao hate Rong Xu? Based on his narrow mind, he definitely hated him to the bones and wished that Rong Xu would be angered to death.
The answer Rong Xu gave was reasonable, and there was a huge possibility it was true as well, but there was no evidence.
Although Luo Zhentao felt that the suspicions on Han Yanghao were great, there was still a very critical problem: "Han Yanghao shouldn't have known that you were "Black Clouds"'s lead actor." Luo Zhentao solemnly continued: "Xiao Xu, whether it's him or not, I will start observing the movements on his side, and we will carefully check over it again."
The youth gently nodded and lowered his head to take a sip of the hot tea. He smiled: "It's already late today. Go rest early, Luo ge."
Luo Zhentao smiled bitterly: "How could I be in the mood to sleep? However, you have to rest well. We still need to film tomorrow."
Rong Xu didn't force him and sent Luo Zhentao out. Looking at Luo Zhentao's hastily retreating back, Rong Xu thoughtfully stared for a while. In the end, he helplessly shook his head and whispered to himself: "If it is him… then he really is the stupidest star I have ever seen."
That night, Rong Xu continued to look through the news online while waiting for Luo Zhentao's report.
A little before eleven, he decided to rest first. Regardless of the subsequent development of the situation, as long as the crew and Luo Zhentao were on the case, there wouldn't be any bigger incidents. What Rong Xu needed to do right now was to have a good rest, save his energy, and finish tomorrow's filming.
And just five minutes after Rong Xu turned off his phone, a post appeared on "Black Clouds"'s official Weibo.
An hour ago, the crew's official Weibo had tagged Director Liang, Rong Xu, and Yu Siyu, keeping the fans guessing. At that time, the crew said they would give them a surprise in an hour, but the fans did not pay attention to this and instead continuously debated Rong Xu's and Yu Siyu's roles.
What the fans completely didn't expect was, this surprise truly was a surprise; a surprise that completely caught people off guard!
["Black Clouds" crew: Summer has passed once again, and the time I have waited for you increased another year; Black clouds drift over the horizon, I look back to be greeted by your smile. In March 2044, we invite you to enjoy this song, "Black Clouds", just to meet Ling Xiao! @Director Liang Chao @Rong Xu @Yu Siyu ]
… It was fine if they didn't post, but once they posted, they even brought along the trailer!
In the beginning, many fans still couldn't believe it when they saw the video and muttered in disbelief: "It's probably… a video of some behind-the-scenes stuff? It can't be a trailer… en, it can't be a trailer! Even the names of the cast haven't been announced yet, how could they already release the trailer…?"
But when they nervously opened the video, suddenly! Everyone was blown away!
The one-minute trailer quickly played. It started with a vast sky overcast with black clouds, but the resplendent sunlight then pierced through the clouds, suddenly illuminating this world. Then, the scenes quickly flashed by accompanied with upbeat background music. All the netizens watched, stunned by this grand line-up of stars that was bright enough to light up the world.
A famous Music Queen of inspirational song, spoke in awkward Chinese: "Ling Xiao?"
France's national treasure beauty smiled as if she saw her friend and said: "Ling Xiao."
A traditional Chinese singer looked at the TV, smiling as they nodded: "Ling Xiao."
...
Ling Xiao, Ling Xiao, Ling Xiao…
Dozens of people appeared in the trailer; each person only had one scene, only calling out one name——
Ling Xiao.
Each of these dozens of big-name stars are famous throughout the entire entertainment circle, to where any netizen could call out their names. When they each called out Ling Xiao's name one by one, the shock this created was absolutely astonishing and overwhelming.
Xia Muyan walked to the center of the banquet party, calling out the name "Ling Xiao" in her heart; Efira José attended an awards ceremony and called out the name "Ling Xiao" towards the stage.
The beautiful quality and uniform filming techniques and editing methods, made the netizens immediately realize: these famous stars weren't being interviewed, they should be acting! Then that's to say, these twenty to thirty big-names were all making guest appearances in "Black Clouds"!
The trailer for "Black Clouds" had just started, and it already used the first thirty seconds to shock the audience.
Finally, when the Traditional Chinese Music Empress, Xu Yue, stood on the stage and opened the name card in her hands, smiling as she called out "Ling Xiao", suddenly! The whole screen darkened in an instant, the background music gradually faded, and the gentle pattering of rain fell onto the ears of the netizens, and along with it, a clear and moving singing voice.
"Summer has passed once again, and the time I have waited for you increased another year…"
When Ling Xiao's fans heard this song, they could not help but tear up as they watched the screen change to a noisy and crowded subway station. In the crowd of people, a young and elegant youth was earnestly strumming a guitar, gently singing a song.
He did not seem to be a part of this world; a gentle and tranquil temperament lingered around his person and lingered in his song.
The people around him, rushing here and there, formed a sharp contrast to his singing figure. He continued to earnestly sing just like that. Even if there were times when no one stopped to listen to his song, he did not care. Just singing "Black Clouds" over and over again, in the most joyful and happy singing voice.
Clack——
Clack——
A woman in business attire stopped in front of the youth. Yu Siyu's gentle and beautiful face was extremely serious as she solemnly said: "Nice to meet you, I am Zhao Chuyun from Huaxia Entertainment."
In the next instant, the scene changed again.
First entering the entertainment circle and becoming famous with one song, but it was followed by an even greater pressure.
This gentle youth quickly matured with the help of his manager; becoming famous, winning awards, selling over ten thousand copies, eventually reaching over a million!
He encountered a bottleneck.
The audience held their breath and saw that after creating an unsatisfactory song, that gentle youth asked his manager to leave the recording room and give him some quiet thinking space. Then, he walked out of the room and through the glass corridor, when a low-pitched male voice sounded behind him——
"Ling Xiao?"
Ling Xiao turned around and faced the other.
That person's low laughter was like a feather, softly tickling the heart of every listener. The intense, sexy male hormones almost penetrated out of the screen and deep into the hearts of all the fans. On the screen, that handsome and elegant Ling Xiao's eyes slightly widened, looking at the other in surprise. After that person laughed for a while, he spoke in a low voice——
"You are Ling Xiao."
The bright and beautiful youth's pupils slightly quivered, and his eyelashes fluttered. In his clear and brilliant eyes, layers of light gently rippled as he gazed at the other in astonishment. But soon, his lips quietly raised, revealing a gentle smile that solely belongs to Ling Xiao. Suddenly, the whole scene softened, leaving behind only this beautiful and gentle youth.
Finished! The trailer ended!
Just when the many people staring at this youth were slowly coming to their senses, the screen suddenly darkened and the video ended.
All the fans blankly stared at their phones and computers. When they realized, they immediately frantically commented on "Black Clouds" crew's official Weibo.
[Amazing! Beautiful! This movie actually made my blood boil seeing it, my family's Music God is obviously a gentle and pure person, how come I suddenly feel my blood boil? Yes, it's to let the whole world shout out his name! He's called Ling Xiao, he is Ling Xiao!]
[Rong Xu is very beautiful ah… Although I've always said that Rong Xu's appearance doesn't match Ling Xiao's, this looks veryyyyyy nice ah! And when he sings, he's completely different from how he usually is, he almost seems to be shining when he sings… How can he can so beautiful, as a face-con, I silently lick the screen _(:3∠)_]
[Wait a minute, is this really that @Rong Xu who played Huo Xi?! They're nothing alike at all! I definitely watched "Ambush" ah, I'm not that smart so don���t trick me you guys, he really is Huo Xi? How… how did he suddenly become so warm!! I can't stand this kind of warm and tender beautiful youth, isn't he a bit too beautiful!]
[Quickly come out! I'm going to buy a ticket, no one is allowed to stop me from buying a ticket!]
[I want to buy two tickets, at least two!]
[Hey, the singing is different from Ling Xiao's, could it be that Rong Xu sung it himself? It's really good?!]
Aside from these passers-by, Rong Xu's fans were even more excited.
[Rongrong QAQ Such a beautiful Rongrong, it's different from Marshal Huo, it's also different from Wanqi Yao, it feels like Rongrong's whole person is like a ball of light, so gentle ah! His smile at the end is so beautiful ah, the kind of beauty that leaves one with no attacking power ah ah ah ah!! I really want to hug this kind of Rongrong, this Rongrong will definitely let me hug him, I want to hug him for a hundred years without letting go!!!]
[I didn't expect that while I didn't fall under the military boots of the evil and tyrannical, overbearing CEO-type Marshal Huo nor did I fall under the white robes of the peerlessly talented, abstinent and cold Military Advisor Wanqi Yao, I actually… I actually stumbled under the pants of the Music God version of Rongrong! From now on, I will be Rongrong's wife powder fan, Rongrong is so gentle, so good, I want to love Rongrong for a lifetime muah muah muah =3=]
"Black Clouds"'s official Weibo was quickly filled up with three different types of comments.
First, it was the fan comments of the male and female leads. No matter whether it was Rong Xu's fans or Yu Siyu's fans, they all excitedly expressed their joy. This movie finally officially revealed itself and even announced the two actors who were obviously the male and female leads!
Rong Xu's fans were stunned to the extent that they couldn't stop licking the screen by this "beautiful and gentle version of Rongrong" that they had never seen before. Yu Siyu's fans also expressed that this kind of elite working woman was their goddess' attempt at breaking past her image, and it was so skillfully done at that!
Second, it was the many speculations about the film.
This song's vocals were obviously not Ling Xiao's original soundtrack, so who sang it? The voice was a bit similar to Rong Xu, was it really Rong Xu who sang? Also, there were twenty-four famous stars shown at the beginning of the trailer, all of them were coming to guest star. Aside from them, were there any other big coffee seats?
Finally, many were guessing who that male voice belonged to.
When he saw the other, Rong Xu's pupils slightly widened, appearing to be a bit surprised. Rong Xu showcased these small details very well. The fans felt his surprise like it was natural and didn't think too much of it and instead directed their questions at the owner of the voice.
The way that person appeared wasn't like the other big coffee seats, looking at this, he shouldn't be a big coffee seat coming for a mere guest appearance.
Then who was it?
The manager played by Yu Siyu, Zhao Chuyun, was real. She had already married ten years ago. Naturally, her marriage partner was not Ling Xiao. This movie was not a romantic film but an inspirational biography. Based on this, that mysterious person who appeared at the end was likely a very important person to Ling Xiao.
Also.. that voice sounded so familiar ah!
[Too familiar! It's really too familiar! I'm sure I've heard this voice somewhere before, and even heard it countless of times!]
[Protesting against the crew, protesting against the crew, you guys actually still edit the sounds in the trailer. I can't clearly hear the person's voice at all okay, is this person very important to Ling Xiao? PS: @Rong Xu's eyes are so pretty, it's like there's a beautiful light in it, becoming a fan~]
[…Doesn't it sound a bit little my family's Qin Shen's voice?]
[Ehh it does sound a bit like Qin Shen's voice ah.]
[No way right, how can Qin Shen act in this movie, a guest appearance is more likely.]
People quickly shifted their speculations away from Qin Cheng. They were instead very curious who could make the Ling Xiao played by Rong Xu so surprised, exactly who was that person? The crew even made the other appear at the very end and kept people in suspense, that person was definitely extremely important to Ling Xiao.
Because Ling Xiao had very good relationships in the circle and had numerous friends, even if they were a die-hard fan, they had no way to instantly guess who was this person that was so important to Ling Xiao.
But in any case, the release of this trailer turned all the netizens' attention away from the marketing account's 'explosive news'. Originally, there were still some fans who were somewhat disgusted with Rong Xu. Even if Rong Xu's fans proved that all those who were praising him were the blackspots water army, the knot in the fans' hearts could not be solved so easily.
However, now, after seeing this beautiful trailer, some of them silently accepted Rong Xu's version of Ling Xiao and no longer raised any objections, and some of them were immediately drawn to such an unfamiliar but also familiar Ling Xiao. Unfamiliar because Rong Xu's appearance and voice were completely different from that of Ling Xiao, but familiar because this youth exuded Ling Xiao's gentleness and warmth.
He was like a warm sun; when he smiles at you, you could not help but smile back.
The smile at the end was Ling Xiao's, it really was Ling Xiao's.
The Ling Xiao played by Rong Xu was too handsome and did not match the actual person, but his portrayal of the character definitely passed. Even in the scene where he sang "Black Clouds" at the subway entrance, many of Ling Xiao's fans felt their noses sour. Only after their tears had fallen did they discover that they were crying in grief from watching Rong Xu in the video… from watching this Ling Xiao.
Their appearances are not similar, but they are very similar.
At twelve that night, Ling Xiao's official fan support group posted on their official Weibo.
[Ling Xiao's National Support Association: The new trailer for "Black Clouds" has been released: , Thank you @Director Liang Chao, Thank you @Yu Siyu. Finally, thank you @Rong Xu, thank you for your Ling Xiao. May everyone have no black clouds in your heart[flower][flower][flower]]
By one in the morning, many netizens were still in the major forums or Tieba talking ceaselessly and fervently discussing "Black Clouds". And in the hotel next to Film City, the crew's PR staff saw that the flow of everything was guided by itself and the netizens' discussion began to move in a direction that favored the crew. They heaved a sigh of relief and could finally rest.
At the same time, at three in the morning when not a sound could be heard, in the far away B-City, a black car slowly passed by a skyscraper, leaving the building where "Entertainment Circle's Gossip King"'s studio was located.
The next day, Rong Xu had just finished getting ready and hadn't even put on his jacket when he heard a knock on his door.
Translator's Corner:
Vian: Can I just say, I got chills from just reading about the trailer owo image if it was actually in video form
celes: Well, it would certainly be impressive seeing all those major stars. But honestly, I really want to hear Rongrong's singing.
namio: (chugs tea while crying) netizens who else could it be if not Gu da!!! Gu da!!!
That said, I really want to hear Rongrong's singing, too! Or even just more lyrics from Ling Xiao's songs _(┐「ε:)_ I'm not picky
Neglect the essentials and instead attend to the trifles – Ignore the important things in favor of the unimportant things.
PS – By the way. If it's 'PS:' it means by the way. If it's just PS, it means Photoshop/photoshopped.
Inspirational song – It was actually "Sweet Songs". There's no definite line for what is considered a Sweet Song but they're usually songs that are uplifting, sweet, make you relax, heal the soul, put you in a good mood and make you happy; stuff like that. I chose "inspirational" because I listened to a few and that's what most of them are.
Some answers I saw from the CN netizens describing what a Sweet Song is that were my personal favorites:
"Forget the cruelty of reality and return to your first love!"
"Life is so bitter, listen to some sweetness."
"Sweet songs makes up for the beauty you have not experienced."
"Sweet song lyrics fills up all your regrets about love."